Camping
by hazelmom
Summary: Crossed wires leaves the team scrambling on Christmas day.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story was written for the NFA Secret Santa. I wrote it for our wonderful moderator, Colleen. Enjoy!

**Camping- Chapter 1**

"I hate Christmas. It's become a retail driven extravaganza filled with tension, frustration, and false cheer."

McGee frowned at Tony. "It's not that bad."

"Then explain what's on Gibbs' desk." He pointed at a box wrapped in paper decorated with tree ornaments with a red bow.

"It's a gift."

"We don't do gifts on this team. You know that. It's a rule."

"I reviewed the rules carefully. There is no such rule."

"It's unspoken, Tim. We don't do gifts," Tony said firmly.

"Just this year."

"No."

McGee stared down at his keyboard. "This year is different."

Tony glanced at Ziva's empty desk. He'd spent almost three months not looking at it. It literally hurt his gut to see someone else sitting there. It worked better to pretend it wasn't there. Empty or filled, the chair was Ziva's, but Tony didn't believe in fairytales, and he knew that those soulful brown eyes weren't going to be staring back at him any time soon. He pushed away from the desk abruptly. "It's not different. Life throws us lemons every day. This year is the same as any other."

"You always act like you're the only one missing her."

Tony shook his head and looked away.

"Come on, Tony. It'd would be great if you joined Abby and me. I told her I would help her get the children's shelter ready for the holidays tomorrow, and then we're going to midnight mass. Going to serve dinner at the shelter on Christmas Day."

"McGee." Tony looked up at the ceiling.

"I mean, I know it sounds like a little much, but I think it could be fun. Abby would be really excited if you came."

"I told you that I was heading up to New York to see my old man."

"Yeah, I know, but just in case…you know."

"Leave me alone," he growled.

Gibbs appeared with a coffee in his hand. He saw the gift on his desk and an eyebrow rose but he said nothing. "Go home. No reason to stay here. You'll have to be back on the 26th."

"Driving up to Stillwater tonight?"

"Yup."

McGee looked up. "Long drive, Boss. Ice storm is coming in."

"Storm's not going to get here until sometime tomorrow. I'll be at Dad's by midnight tonight."

Gibbs stared at the gift on his desk for a long moment. "So what's this? We don't really do presents around here."

"Ah…well, it's not really a gift…I mean, it's not much. It's nothing, really. Just a little something from me and Tony."

Tony looked up at the ceiling.

"Sure is wrapped fancy for something that isn't much."

"It was left over paper from…last year."

Tony shook his head.

"I mean, it's been kind of a tough year…thought it would be nice…" McGee gave up on further explanation.

Gibbs picked it up. "Well, part of gift giving is opening it in front of the giver."

Tim shook his head. "Not necessary."

Gibbs was already tearing it apart. He pulled out an IPad. "What's this? Looks expensive."

"No, Boss! It wasn't. Got it used. Ebay…Tony and I."

DiNozzo rolled his eyes.

Gibbs frowned. "What am I supposed to do with it?"

McGee jumped up. "Well, I know you're not much for technology, but you're always losing your reading glasses and I programmed it so the font is 16 pt."

"Font?"

"Words, Boss. The words are bigger. Ah…let me show you. It's a used model and very, very simple. You can read books with it."

"I can?"

"Yeah. I mean, you like books. And I told you about that series of books by Patrick O'brian called Master and Commander about the British Navy in the 19th century. You said you might like to read them, but you always forget to bring your reading glasses home and you never have time to go to a use dbookstore. I downloaded the whole series onto the IPad."

Gibbs nodded. "It's awfully nice, but you could've just bought me another pair of reading glasses."

"No, this is much better." McGee snatched it from him. "I taped a set of instructions to the back. Wrote them myself. Super easy to use. You'll love it."

Gibbs nodded slowly as McGee handed it back. "Very nice, Tim…and Tony. Are you sure this wasn't pricey?"

"Ebay, Boss. See the scratches."

Gibbs peered at the scratches etched on the back. "These look awfully fresh."

"Yeah, I wouldn't know anything about that." McGee stepped away from it.

Gibbs looked at both men. "It has been a tough fall. It's important that we remember that even if she isn't with us, she's safe. She wants us to move forward. It's a real nice thing you did here, Tim. I appreciate it. We're going to let this be an exception to the gift's rule."

"Boss, I checked the rules before I…we did it. It isn't written."

"None of the rules are written, McDingbat."

"They're written, Tony. I always write them down."

"Like I said, this is a good thing. I'm going to enjoy it a great deal. Now, you guys need to get out of here and have a good holiday. I hear that Abby has you scheduled the whole time, Tim. That's very sweet."

McGee nodded at Tony. "Wish he was coming."

"I'm getting on a plane to see my dad. Got a problem with that?"

"Holidays shouldn't be spent alone," Gibbs said softly.

"You know my dad. 70 year old playboy. I'm going to spend two days with him. We're going to stay in a swanky hotel, eat over priced food, and drink top shelf booze. He'll undoubtedly hit on every female we come across, and I'll end Christmas wondering where it all went wrong. I couldn't ask for more."

Gibbs studied him as Tony got up and grabbed his coat. "Okay then. See you on the 26th."

"Yeah. See you." Tony trotted to catch the open elevator.

McGee sat back down and Gibbs turned to him. "He'll be fine."

"He drinks too much and he does it alone. Hasn't even looked at another woman in months."

"Give him a little time."

McGee pointed at the elevator. "I just have a feeling he's not going anywhere for Christmas."

"He's in no mood for company."

"I'm worried that he's going to end up like..."

"Like me," Gibbs said with a twinkle in his eye.

"No! I didn't mean that."

"It's okay, Tim. I don't want him turning out like me either."

McGee sighed. "It hasn't been the same since she left."

"How about you? You were close to her too. How are you doing?"

He shrugged. "Just working hard. Give me a problem worth solving and I can forget most everything."

"Nobody's forgetting that you were close to her too."

"You sure about that?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Tony is a little wrapped up in his own sadness right now, but he knows. Come on now. Pack up your things and get out of here."

McGee started stuffing things into his backpack while Gibbs studied the Ipad from different angles. All of a sudden, McGee froze. "Hey Boss! Yesterday, Tony asked you for the key to your cabin. Do you think he's headed up there?"

"Nope. I told him there was no electricity. The fireplace is the only heat."

"Why does he want the key?"

"He's got that conference in West Virginia in January. Said he wanted to stop on the way up and grab a jacket he left. I'm not going up again until March. Fornell and I are going to wire the place. Fornell got through college as an electrician's assistant."

"Okay. Just wondering."

"Leave him alone. He'll be fine."

…..

The DVD never made it into the player. DiNozzo had purchased the box set of David Lynch classics, and he got up to put a disc into the Blu-Ray, but the whole exercise felt so empty that he left it on top of the TV and wandered over to a window.

Outside, he could see a line of lights trailing off into the distance, signaling rush hour on Christmas Eve. Every car was filled with at least one person with a life- someone going home to a family or friends. So many people in this world, and DiNozzo with all of his charm and wit felt connected only to the two men who sat across from him every day.

There would be no Christmas with the old man. Senior was chasing a deal in Dubai. He'd invited Tony to join him, but the plane trip alone would've accounted for most of his time off. Plus, it was hard to deal with Senior when he had his nose to the ground like this. Senior chased money with the same fervor that Tony chased criminals.

He could hook up with McGee and Abby, but McGee was overcompensating these days, and it was just this side of insufferable. McGee was like a little kid running around trying to plug all of the holes without taking into account why the holes were happening in the first place. DiNozzo knew it was his way of coping, but his obsession with making everything normal again was frustrating. Things were never going to be what they were. It was a fact, and the sooner they came to grips with it, the better.

He used to think about the feel of her hand on his face when she told him how loved he was. It had been both the saddest and most beautiful moment he'd ever experienced. But that moment left him angry now. She could've chosen him and she didn't. The truth of it filled him with rage.

His psyche replaced the dream of her with nightmares of busts gone bad and gunfire in the field. He woke most nights in a cold sweat. He knew he was heading for his final days. Wondered how soon it was coming without a sense of dread. The only prayers he said these days had to do with the safety of McGee and Gibbs.

His phone went off again and he crossed the room and shut it off. He knew it was McGee. Wasn't sure if the man had traced his credit cards or what, but it was clear that he knew that Tony wasn't headed for New York. Tony smiled at the dead phone. He couldn't remember the last time he'd shut it down cold. Gibbs put too much pressure on being available for all that, but it felt good that no one from NCIS could touch him for two days.

…

Abby was sitting at a table littered with glitter glue, markers, beads, stickers, paints, posterboard, and other crafts. A group of kids had crowded around her while she encouraged them to let their imaginations go wild. Whenever a creation was finished, she seized it and mounted it on the wall with enthusiasm, taking pictures of it and commenting on its brilliance. Her energy was infectious and the kids were furiously working on creations to top the last one mounted. It was a nice respite for kids facing a holiday without their families.

McGee couldn't make sense of that kind of chaos, and so he worked on decorating the tree with a couple of solemn boys who silently picked out ornaments and pointed out the branch where they belonged. McGee periodically smiled at them, but they said little in return. It was tough being in a strange place without your family. Still, they seemed intent on helping, and McGee imagined that he wouldn't act much different if he was a kid in their situation.

He pulled out his phone as the boys opened another box of bulbs, and tried Tony's number again. Again, it went straight to voicemail. McGee closed his eyes and put the phone back in his pocket. Tony had turned the phone off. That was clear. And he wasn't going to New York. This much McGee knew. He didn't have to hack anything for confirmation either.

It was all in Tony's demeanor. An upcoming visit with Senior required days of processing in the bullpen. There would be stories of good times and bad, but there were always stories to preface a visit from Senior. It was Tony's way of preparing himself for both the excitement and the inevitable disappointment of a DiNozzo reunion, and McGee always endured the unending soliloquy silently. This week, there had been no stories. Hence, Tony was not going to see the old man.

He glanced over at Abby. He'd promised her this holiday. Things had been strained between the two of them since he started dating Delilah. Jealousy. It had always been there- on both sides. What it meant or where it would take them was never clear. As friends, the two of them were intertwined in a way that defied description and he learned to accept it. Where he was headed with Delilah was also unclear, but he just knew that he owed Abby this holiday.

He reached stepped off the ladder for another ornament and found her there smiling. "It's beautiful!"

He stepped back and looked at it. "It is pretty good. What do you think, guys?"

He turned but the two little boys were running to the door at high speed. McGee's brows rose.

"The van is leaving for the YMCA. We lost our audience."

"I see that."

"I've been watching you. You keep looking down at your phone. You really think he didn't go to New York?"

Tim sighed. "It shouldn't bother me. I don't know why it does so much."

"You're worried about him," she said rubbing his arm.

He shook his head. "Actually, I think I'm mad more than anything else. I want him to snap out of it."

"He misses her."

He turned sharply. "I do too! And so do you! I know it's different. I mean, I didn't realize it would be so different until she was gone, and he became unhinged. Then I really got a sense as to how different it was, but, dammit, I miss her too!"

"But you didn't imagine you and Ziva riding off into the sunset together. When he lost her, he lost his future."

He blinked. "I didn't think about it like that."

"What do you think it would be like for me if I lost you?"

He froze. "That's a rhetorical question, right?"

She punched him in the arm. "The truth is that you care about him, Timmy. For all of his teasing and pranks, you love Tony. You don't like to see him hurting."

"I don't know about all that," he mumbled.

"You want to go check on him, don't you?"

He looked up. "Would you mind?"

She shrugged. "I can go to midnight mass on my own."

"I'll be back in the morning. Promise. The ice storm isn't going to stop me."

She nodded. McGee smiled, leaned over, and kissed her on the cheek. "You're the best, Abbs."

…

Tony looked down at the little girl leaning in the doorway. "Can you feed Kate and Ziva for me?"

She cocked her head. "It's short notice."

He looked past her at the decorated tree in her parent's living room. "You're not going anywhere. I just need you to stop once a day for two days. It's like fifty feet from here."

She sighed. "Emergency rates apply because of the holiday."

"Emergency rates! You scheming little…" Tony swallowed. "Entrepeneur!"

She shrugged and started to shut the door. "Good luck finding someone else."

Tony put a hand out to stop the door. "All right! Emergency rates."

She put out a hand. "In advance."

He counted out $40 and put it in her hand. "Remember that they like it when you talk to them."

The little girl rolled her eyes. "I know. I will talk to the fish. By the way, where are you going? Is this going to be like when you went to Israel for a week and disappeared for 4 months?"

Tony looked at the ceiling. "I'm only going to be gone for two days."

"Where?"

"Camping. I'm going camping."

She made a face. "It's too cold out for that."

"At a cabin. I'm going camping at a cabin."

She considered his response for a moment. "That's not really camping, but I'll let it go. See you in two days."

He startled as she slammed the door in his face. As he walked away, he mumbled promises to find other people in the building he could rely on to watch over Kate and Ziva.

….

McGee didn't give up when Tony didn't answer right away. He figured that Tony was ignoring him so he started pounding again. Nothing. He leaned close to the door. "Hey come on, man. I just want to talk to you for a minute. Just want to make sure you're okay."

He waited another minute and pounded again. He stood back and waited.

"He went camping."

The little voice surprised him and he turned to find a little girl with blonde hair staring up at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm babysitting Kate and Ziva."

"Huh?"

"His fish."

"Oh! Really?" His face screwed up. "Where is he?"

She nodded. "At a cabin. He says he's camping, but going to a cabin is not camping. I googled it."

"When did he leave?"

She shrugged. "A couple of hours ago."

He nodded and started off.

"Hey!" She called after him. "Isn't there a reward for my information?"

He stopped and looked at her. "I just spent the day with a bunch of kids who have no home for Christmas. If I have money to give away, guess who's getting it?"

She stared at him, mouth open while he headed for the elevator.

…..

McGee sat in his car and stared at the horizon. It was late in the afternoon and darkness was descending. The temperature had dropped into the mid 30's, and rain was starting to fall. He watched the big drops as they landed on his windshield. Two degrees lower and those raindrops were going to drop as ice pellets. Driving was going to be a nightmare. Gibbs' cabin was two hours northwest and so Tony was undoubtedly sitting down, staring into a fire by now feeling sorry for himself. The man had chosen loneliness for the holiday and there was nothing McGee could do about it.

He stared at the steering wheel for a long moment. If he left now, he'd have time to take Abby to dinner before mass. Still, he didn't move. Tony was an idiot when it came to anything rustic. He probably didn't know how to light a decent fire. He was probably only using matches and paper- maybe even wet wood. It was going to be a disaster. And then there was food. Knowing Tony, he probably only picked up a couple of takeout pizzas.

McGee slapped the steering wheel in anger. Again, this was another example of DiNozzo thinking only of himself. He probably forgot how they'd worked a case last year late into Christmas Eve, and how he and Tony and Ziva had ended up at a Japanese restaurant at midnight drinking sake and eating sushi. The three of them had talked into the wee hours of the morning, crashing on Ziva's living room furniture. They'd woken to Ziva grilling lamb and pitas for a brunch. Sometimes, his heart ached when he thought of her. There were so few people he was close to, and she had been such a good friend. She'd always loved him despite his geekiness and obsession with routine, and that had always meant so much to him.

Finally he looked up. It would probably be hours before the rain turned to sleet and snow. If he left now, he'd have just enough time to stop and get decent groceries and firewood. Tony would be annoyed, but he'd get over it. The man craved social contact. Besides, he would be a captive audience and McGee would finally get a chance to really talk to him.

…..

Tony held up his highball glass to the light. The whiskey was as clear as crystal. He smiled and sipped it slowly, letting it sit in his mouth for a long moment before swallowing. He put down the glass and sighed. At the other end of the bar he caught her eye again. She was a brunette, long and leggy, drinking a white wine. Her dress was green and low cut, and her hair was thick and wavy. Tony had no illusions. A woman that beautiful was rarely alone on Christmas Eve, but it was the way she studied him that told him she was a working girl. Still, it was the season of giving, and so he leaned toward the bartender and asked him to send her a white wine.

She nodded at him, but took her time before she headed his direction. One of the perks of staying at an expensive place like the Adams House was that the few call girls that used it were high class, and he smiled as she glided toward him in the tight dress and 5 inch heels. She put her wine and an expensive pocketbook on the bar and sat down.

He extended a hand. "Tony DiNozzo."

She nodded. "Desiree."

"On your own tonight?"

She shrugged. "Not anymore. You in town on business?"

"No," he said fingering his glass. "I'm camping."

She raised an eyebrow. "Come again."

He sighed. "I was headed up near West Virginia. A little cabin. But it was…ill-conceived. Bad weather. The wrong clothes. Dumb idea. Ended up here. The management knows my father. Found a nice suite for the next couple of days. Still, I'm sticking to the concept of camping."

"Couldn't stand an empty house," she said as she sipped on her wine.

"Something like that."

"Well, I guess this is my lucky day then."

Tony snorted. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm a federal agent. The best you're going to get out of me is a nice dinner."

"You think you know what I want?" she said without a hint of outrage.

"I study people for a living."

"Me too."

"Okay. What do you see?"

She smiled. "I see a guy who's hungry for a Porterhouse steak and some easy conversation."

He slapped his credit card on the bar and turned to her. "Desiree, where have you been all my life?"

….

McGee kicked at the titanium lock again. It was a gesture born out of frustration rather than actual utility. That lock wasn't going to yield and he had nothing in his car that was going to force it. The man refused to lock his front door, but he made sure his cabin was closed up tighter than Fort Knox.

It was only one of many disappointments. DiNozzo wasn't at the cabin. McGee could've kicked himself for not tracking Tony's car with GPS before making the dangerous trek up the mountain.

The two hour drive turned into a three and a half white knuckle odyssey once he'd gotten on the narrow mountain roads up to the cabin and now it was midnight. The temperature plummeted as he climbed in elevation. The roads were slick with ice and lights were few and far between. He'd thought about turning around many times, but he was sure he'd get up there and find his partner sitting in the cabin.

An hour earlier, the sleet had turned to snow and the wind was driving it sideways, pelting his face as he considered his options. It had never dawned on him that he'd have no way to get into Gibbs' cabin once he got there. The forecast on the way up said the storm was going to stick with them for another 24 hours. He was down to half a tank of gas so waiting out the storm in his car wasn't feasible.

He got back into his car and took a deep breath. If he drove slow, he could probably make to the main road in a hour. There was an inn and gas station another 10 miles south. Hell, he could sit in the lobby until the storm passed if they didn't have any rooms.

The headlights were on bright and he took the corners slow, but it didn't stop the car from sliding at every turn. The driving snow was thick and he could only see a few feet ahead of him at any time. He gripped the wheel and muttered curses under his breath like a mantra.

It was only a couple of miles down from Gibbs' cabin that conditions decided his fate. Driving on ice works as long as you don't create friction. Any sudden or sharp turn, and your car will choose its path home. By the time he spotted the tree through the heavy snow, he was almost on top. He turned the wheel hard and spun away from the tree, but the car kept spinning. Trying to right himself caused enough friction to propel the car around leaving McGee as merely a passenger to his fate. He saw the steep drop only a second before the car sailed over it.

….


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **This story is timely considering the ridiculous weather across the county at present. One more chapter. Enjoy! Sheila

**Camping- Chapter 2**

"Wow! This Cabernet is amazing." Tony said. "I would hate to think what I'm paying for it."

"Quality isn't cheap," Desiree said as she cut a scallop into tiny pieces. "Tell me more about her. She sounds very special."

Still holding the stem of glass, Tony stared off into the distance. "She's beautiful. Very beautiful. I didn't see it at first. She wasn't my type. Petite. Wild, dark hair. She dressed very simply. In the beginning, she had no sense of fun. Not my kind of girl. It was her eyes that I fell for first: Deep chocolate brown eyes that held a thousand secrets. She wears almost no makeup. It would just ruin their beauty."

"A man in love with a pair of eyes," she shook her head. "I thought I'd heard it all."

"She'd seen so much, and, at first, they were only the eyes of a killer to me, but then she had these moments of being soft and caring, and those eyes would carry all of her emotions. I lived for the moments she let me stare into them." Tony chuckled. "I sound like a bad poet."

"Yeah, you do, but it's sweet." Desiree forked a piece of her scallop and chewed it slowly. "She wasn't in love with you?"

"I wish it were that simple," Tony said sighing. "I think she loves me very much."

"Then why are the two of you making this so desperately complicated?"

"You're a very smart woman, Desiree. I'll answer that if you explain to me why someone as beautiful and intelligent as you is making a living on her back."

She shook her head. "Very crude, Tony but you're right. Sometimes, things are very complicated."

He swallowed the rest of his glass. "She could come back."

Desiree shook her head. "The pain is making you angry, my friend. I hope she waits until you've learned to live without her. Then you'll know how to forgive her. That's probably the only way the two of you will have a chance."

Tony studied her for a long moment. "I'd pay money to hear your story."

She laughed. "Nobody has that kind of money."

….

The wind felt cold on his face and he put up a hand to block it, but when he felt his face, it was wet. He opened his eyes and it was dark everywhere. He could hear nothing but the howl of the wind. As his eyes adjusted, he saw a big, long tentacle reaching for him. He reached up and felt wood. A branch had stabbed through the windshield. Memories of the car sliding out of control crowded his memory.

He groaned and focused on the wetness on his face. It was thick and sticky and he knew it was blood. He trailed his fingers up his face and found a large, tender bump on his right temple with a slash running across it. He swallowed and leaned his head against the back of his seat. He had no idea if it had all happened seconds ago or if hours had passed. The wind shifted and snowed blew through the crushed windshield.

He leaned forward and the car tilted. Fear gripped his gut and he grabbed at the car door, but it didn't yield. He tried again and the door opened, but immediately butted against something. It only opened a couple of inches and he couldn't fully snake his hand through the opening. He leaned back and considered his options. He thought about moving to his right and crawling out the passenger door. He ducked under the protruding branch and started to drag himself across the seat. Then a wild pain radiated up his left thigh and he screamed. He stopped and reached down, and found his leg trapped under crushed metal. He tugged at it, but each exertion left him howling in pain.

Finally he leaned back, breathing hard. A deep ache was growing in his temple and he felt exhaustion settling in. He had enough clarity to know that he could die of exposure in the coming hours without help. He leaned forward to pull his phone out of his pocket, and the car lurched again. The phone fell out of his hand and slipped down into the twisted metal trapping his leg. He felt for it frantically but it was gone.

A fog was growing in his head, but he fought it, reaching around the car feeling for something that might help. Then his right hand landed on the two Army blankets he'd picked up at the place that sold him firewood. At the time, he'd thought it was doubtful that Gibbs' tiny cabin would have enough bedding for both of them. He dragged the blankets over and used them to cover every inch of his body. Then he draped them over his face and closed his eyes.

….

Tony rolled over on his side and rubbed at his eyes. He opened them and blinked at the woman in bra and panties coming out of the bathroom. He sat up. "Remind me that I behaved myself."

"You were a gentleman, Tony. Thanks for letting me stay."

He squinted at the clock flashing 11:00. "Oh man, we must have been up late."

She pulled a brush from her bag, and started on her long mane. "You fell asleep around 4 a.m."

He ran fingers through the wild thatch of hair on his head. "Breakfast?"

"It's on its way. Eggs. Pancakes. Fruit."

"Scrambled. I need my eggs scrambled."

"Not a problem. I ordered omelets."

Tony nodded, grabbed his bag, and shuffled into the bathroom. When he got out, Desiree was sitting in the suite's living room in front of a fairly elaborate spread. His eyes widened. "Damn."

"Don't worry. It's not on your bill. It's my thank you. Now hurry up and eat."

"Hurry?"

"Yes!" she said pushing part of an omelet on to his plate. "It's Christmas Day and you told me last night that you're not going to hide yourself from your friends anymore. Abby and McCoy are at the shelter getting ready for Christmas dinner and you're going to help them."

"Huh?"

"Come on," she said. "You weren't that drunk."

He stared down at his plate. "I suppose I should. McGee. His name is McGee and he's has been trying to get me to talk for weeks."

She sipped her coffee. "If I remember correctly, you said that they're hurting too and you need to stop acting like you're alone in all this. Sharing the holiday with them would be a good first step."

He stared at her. "One of these days you and I are really going to have to discuss why you do what you do."

She rolled her eyes and reached for some more melon. "Get going, Tony."

"Come with me."

She shook her head. "I got a date."

"Desiree."

She got up and grabbed her coat. "You don't know me well enough to try and save me."

"Well then, leave a phone number."

She smiled. "I have yours. Pulled it off your phone while you were in the shower. We'll talk when I'm ready."

She was out the door before he could get up and stop her.

…..

An excited Abby was one of the best presents a guy could receive, and Tony laughed as she hugged him tightly around the middle and planted a red kiss on his cheek. "I'm so, so glad you came. The weather is horrible out there, but we're still having the best time! Ducky showed up. He's showing everyone what a Christmas pudding is in the kitchen. With you and Tim here, it's going to be the greatest holiday ever!"

He pulled back and tugged one of her pigtails. "Sorry I've been so distant lately. It hasn't been fair to any of you."

"We understood. We really did. We just missed you. It was hardest on Tim. He was so worried."

"Annoyed was more like it."

She slapped his arm. "You know him. He cares. He's just grumpy with you. He wants you to let him in. He wants you to know that you're not the only one sad about Ziva."

Tony looked around the room. "So where is McGumpy?"

She shrugged. "Parking the car?"

"You have valet service at a shelter?"

"No! I mean, he's with you, right? I figured he was parking the car."

Tony shook his head. "McProbie is not with me."

She frowned. "He has to be! He left yesterday to go look for you. I left him tons of messages this morning. I just figured the two of you tied one on last night and were sleeping it off."

"He probably wanted a little break from do-gooding. I'm sure he's at home playing online games with some of his pathetic gamer friends."

She shook her head slowly. "Tim wouldn't do that. He wouldn't ignore my phone calls. Never."

Tony nodded. "You're right. He might do that to me, but never to you."

Ducky appeared in an apron with his sleeves rolled up. "Tony! This is good news!"

"Ducky, Timmy is missing!"

"What?!"

"Abbs, we don't know that," Tony said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"He probably had a car accident. Roads are horrible!"

"I should call hospitals." Ducky reached for his phone.

"Hold up, folks. We don't have to go crazy yet. Abbs, with how much detail can you track his car?"

"Um, my new software is really good. I can pinpoint him within a hundred meters."

"Okay, Abbs. Call whosever on duty on MTAC and find him."

…

"Hey Brownie, can you zoom in closer?" Tony peered into whiteness on the screen with a GPS signal flashing at him.

The MTAC Special Agent in Charge looked up. "It's not going to matter, DiNozzo. The cloud cover is too heavy. Satellites can't see anything in weather like this."

"I just want to make sure he made it to Gibbs' cabin. Can't tell a thing with visibility like this." Tony stared at the large screen, his arms folded. "Hey, do me a favor. Can you find an image of this spot at any other time?"

"Yup." The screen split in two and an image came up of the area in the fall, bright colors contrasting the bleak whiteness of the first image. DiNozzo got close and pointed. "That's where the GPS is and Gibbs' cabin is over there. Dammit! He didn't get there."

"Maybe, he's holed up at another cabin."

Tony shook his head. "I've been up there. Gibbs' place is alone. Nearest place was about ten miles down the mountain. Mark it for me, Brownie."

"Tony, what are you thinking? We've got about 6 inches on the ground down here. Up there, it has to be close to a foot. It's all glare ice underneath, and the wind is blowing. We got a class A blizzard out there. No one is getting up there until sometime tomorrow at the earliest."

Tony headed up the stairs toward the door. "I'm not leaving him up there alone."

"Hey! I'm the Agent in Charge today. Hell, it's Christmas Day. We're hardly staffed! We don't have any way of helping him!"

Tony turned. "I'm headed down to the motor pool. I'm taking a four wheel drive truck, medical supplies, and tools."

"Tony!"

"Brownie, have you ever had a partner?"

He jerked his head. "Stupid question, DiNozzo!"

"I've had him ten years, Brownie. He was a kid back then. Watched him become a man. It's been a long ten years. I wouldn't know how to leave him up there."

"I'm not losing any agents on my watch!"

Tony disappeared out the door without another word and Agent in Charge Brown cursed and threw his clipboard at the wall.

…..

His fingers were stiff when he pulled off the glove and raked the blankets off his face. Memories flooded through, but even then it took time for him to order them. He was sluggish and blurry and his face throbbed. His fingers reached up and touched his swollen face. He found the knot on his temple and it seemed impossibly large.

He focused his vision on the world. He had passed out in a black world and woke up in one that dark grey. Every window seemed buried in snow. He turned his head and saw how the snow had piled up next to him. It had fallen through the cracked windshield covering the tree branch. It slowly dawned on him that he was being buried under the snow.

He pulled at the branch, shaking it. Snow cleared at the top and he lay back- fears of suffocating slowly subsiding. He could still see very little other than tree and blowing snow. He had no sense of time. Had he been there an hour? Days? His mouth was cotton dry and he considered eating snow, but he decided that hypothermia was a bigger concern at present than dehydration.

He struggled to lean forward, groaning through the pain. His left hand studied his trapped leg. It held fast. A flash of inspiration and he attempted to wiggle his toes and rotate his ankle. Everything moved well. He sighed with the realization that his leg probably wasn't broken. He tried to move his leg further and pain erupted. His hand slipped down as far as it could reach to investigate and he discovered a piece of metal buried in his thigh. The twisted metal was holding his leg tightly. He sucked in breath and attempted to shift his leg, but the explosion of pain left him howling. He let go and lay back, breathing hard. It was becoming clear that he wasn't going anywhere on his own.

His brain, long attuned to exercises in logic, attempted to calculate his chances of survival, but it was an impossible endeavor. As he considered the snow, he realized that it could either save or kill him. It was encasing him like an igloo, protecting him from the wind and colder temperatures. At the same, it was also entombing him. If he couldn't keep up with the drifts, he would suffocate.

His phone rang, and he searched for it frantically until he remembered that it was lost in the tangle of twisted metal at his feet. He waited helplessly until the ringing stopped. He was going to have to count on someone finding him without his help. He closed his eyes. Abby was waiting for him. The call was undoubtedly from her. He pictured her impatient and pacing; ready to scold him for worrying her. He prayed she would have the opportunity.

He wondered if she had reached out to Gibbs by now. He was probably trying to get back to D.C. from Stillwater. Bad weather never seemed to slow him. Would he come in time? Driving on freeways was one thing. Climbing the narrow road to his cabin was something altogether different. A wave of sadness washed over him. The boss didn't let people in easy, but when he did it was deep and forever. McGee knew that Gibbs cared about him- even loved him.

His chest heaved as the sadness enveloped him. He thought of Tony who had been so difficult and distant of late. He was probably somewhere with a woman and a whiskey right now trying to forget, but failing to do much more than sulk in that biting way of his. McGee couldn't find his anger anymore. He knew Tony as well as he knew himself, and he knew that if he didn't make it, Tony would take it hard. Really hard. As two men, they couldn't be any different and yet their relationship was as symbiotic as anything he'd ever experienced.

"My fault, Tony," he said to the broken glass littering his dashboard. "All my fault. I can be such a child sometimes. I know you felt something for her that I couldn't understand. I knew it for a long time, but I tried not to think about it. I was too mad. It left me out- like I didn't matter. I resented it. Wanted both of you to knock it off. It's my fault I charged up here like a fool in lousy weather determined to make you understand that I lost something too." He felt the moisture in the corner of his eyes.

He noticed that the snow was building over the opening he created. He grunted as he reached for the branch and shook it again. A small opening appeared. He stared into it, hoping he could stay lucid enough to keep an airway until help arrived.

…

In his third year as a Baltimore cop, he'd been paired with a country boy from northern Minnesota. The kid had terrible cop instincts and he only lasted two years before he quit and moved back home. The whole experience had been largely unmemorable except for one thing- the kid knew how to drive in the winter and the year they were paired was one of the worst winters on record. He'd showed Tony how to never pump your brakes when you started to slide. The kid showed him how to rock back and forth out of a drift instead of gunning the motor. Most of all, the kid showed him the importance of taking it slow and deliberate, and that's what Tony did as he navigated the narrow mountain road as if it was a minefield.

They'd given him a sturdy maintenance truck with big tires. He'd thrown supplies in the back faster than the quartermaster could keep up, but his energy was such that no one complained. Brownie had even equipped him with a satellite phone and headset.

Visibility was bad. Snow was blowing sideways, and it seemed to fall harder the higher he climbed. He spent most of his time leaning forward into the windshield trying to see turns before he drove off the road. He spotted a place in the road where the wind had cleared the snow and he slowed to a stop. He activated the headset. "Brownie? You with me?"

He got a relatively clear response. "Yup. I got you, Tony."

"How close am I?"

"You're getting close. Maybe five miles."

"I can't see a damn thing. I'm afraid I'm going to pass him up."

"Don't worry. I'm watching."

Tony nodded as he watched the snow dance across the windshield. "Brownie, you talk to the State Patrol? Sheriff?"

"Yeah, I did. It's not good. Their resources are maxed out on highway accidents. A country road isn't going to be priority. They're telling me tomorrow afternoon is the soonest they can put energy into this."

Tony winced. "What's the weather forecast?"

"Snow stops at midnight. Blowing through the morning. Then sun and cold temperatures in the afternoon."

Tony slapped the steering wheel. "Dammit Brownie! Give me some good news."

"I talked to Gibbs."

He sighed. "How close is he?"

"Hours away still but the man is focused."

Tony smiled. "Bet he's pissed."

"Oh yeah. We're all at fault. I could feel it," Brownie said with a hint of humor.

"Don't take it personally. This is the kind of mood he needs to cultivate in order to be unstoppable."

"Don't worry, DiNozzo. I've met the man. You want me to patch in a call to him?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't have anything to say to him yet."

"Okay. You're the man."

"Brownie, your shift must've ended hours ago. You got kids at home, don't you?"

"Shut up, DiNozzo. Just keep driving."

…

He drove past the spot twice the visibility was so bad. It was on the second pass that he saw a thatch of flattened bushes sticking out a drift. He grabbed a lantern and a shovel and headed out. He stopped off the road and started down the decline. It was sharp, and he ended up tumbling several yards. He pulled himself out of a drift and showed the lantern. He saw a large object wedged up against a couple of old oaks. It would've been impossible to recognize it as a car under any other circumstances. He trudged through to the driver's side, but there was a tree trunk blocking it.

"McGee! McGee!" He yelled Tim's name over and over, banging on the car as he dragged snow off the vehicle. He couldn't see inside and the driver's side was blocked so he waded to the passenger side and pulled snow way from the window. He flashed the lantern in the window. He saw a large branch protruding through the windshield and a dark mound in the driver's seat. He banged on the window again. "Tim! It's me! Tim!"

Suddenly, the mound stirred and long fingers pulled blankets off his face. Tony slapped the glass. "It's me! I'm here!"

McGee looked slowly in his direction, but nothing registered on his face. Tony could see well enough to note the injuries on his face. "I'll be right back, Tim! I gotta' get an ax. I'll be right back!"

DiNozzo stumbled up the hill through the heavy snow as best he could. He was back minutes later with a first aid kit and a pick ax. He got to the passenger window again, and saw McGee looking dully in his direction. "Cover your face, Tim! I'm going to break glass!"

McGee frowned and did nothing.

"Put the blanket over your head, Tim!"

Finally, he blinked and dragged the blanket over his face. Tony wasted no time breaking the glass on the passenger window. He fumbled for the lock and pulled the door open. Then he grabbed the first aid kit and slid in next to McGee. He pulled the blanket off McGee's face and shined the lantern on him. "Hey buddy! It's me. I came for you."

McGee's face was a collage of deathly pale skin and dried blood and bruises. "Tony?"

"Yup. It's me."

"I screwed up."

"Me too."

"Boss is going to be mad."

Tony grinned. "So, what else is new?"

"I'm cold."

"I'm going to get you out of here. I'm going to cut this branch and then pull you out the passenger side."

McGee shook his head. "Leg is stuck. Got a piece of metal buried in my thigh."

Tony grabbed a flashlight and crawled under the branch between them, leaning toward the leg. He shined a light. He winced when he saw the metal buried in his leg. He withdrew slowly.

McGee watched him. "It's bad, isn't it?"

Tony hesitated. "We need equipment. I can't do anything from this angle. I need to get the driver's door off, but there's a tree there. Too big to cut." He concentrated. "We need to pull the car away from the tree."

"Can you do this?"

Tony blinked. "You're cold. I got a thermal blanket and hand warmers in the truck. I'm going to warm you up."

"You can't get me out, can you?"

"I'm going to just be a few minutes. No worries, Tim." Tony slid out the door into the snow. He scrambled up the bank, and climbed into the truck, attaching the satellite headset. "Brownie?"

A voice crackled. "Hey Tony! We were getting worried about you."

"I found him. He's maybe 20-30 yards down a hill. Car is buried under snow."

"Injuries?" The voice was new, familiar.

"Duck?" Tony said. "Boy, am I glad to hear you! He's hypothermic. He has a head injury too. He's slow. I can't tell if it's the cold or a concussion. He has metal impaled in his thigh. I can't get him out of the car because of it. Where do I start, Duck?"

"Treat the hypothermia first, Anthony. Do you have a thermal blanket?"

"Yes and I have a box of those hand warmers."

"Pack them around him."

"Duck, I'm worried about the leg. The metal has to be at least 1-2 inches in."

"Don't touch it without some help! The cold has probably slowed the bleeding. Is it close to an artery?"

"No. It's on the outside of the thigh."

A new static erupted and a faint voice joined them. "DiNozzo!"

"Boss!"

"Can you get him out?"

"I have to pull the car away from the tree. The slope is deep. He's about thirty yards off the road. I have chains, but I'm not sure this truck can do it alone."

Ducky jumped in. "It's too much to risk! If you jostle the car too much, he may become impaled further."

"What am I supposed to do!? You think a thermal blanket is going to keep him alive for another day?! Are you crazy!? I need help!"

"Tony, calm down!" The reception was faint but the voice still held all the authority of Gibbs. "I'm coming."

"You gotta hurry, Boss!"

"I know."

"Tony," Ducky said. "You need to use your body heat to help him. Share the blanket with him."

Tony squeezed his eyes close. "Yeah."

"Give him some liquids. It'll help keep him lucid."

"Okay."

More static. "Tony?"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Just focus on keeping him warm. That's your only job. When I get there, we'll do that rest. Got it?"

Tony nodded. "Got it."

…

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **The end to another story. Thanks so much for reading. Your reviews have been lovely. Sheila

**Camping- Chapter 3**

Tony put down the hand saw and yanked at the branch. It broke free and he pushed it into the back seat. "Alright Timmy, let's get these hand warmers under your blankets."

McGee nodded as Tony leaned over him and stuffed warmers everywhere. He slid some down Tim's wounded leg. Tony reached back and grabbed a thermos. "Apple cider. It's not hot, but Ducky says you need the fluid. Sugar oughta help as well."

McGee's hands were shaky on the thermos, but Tony kept one hand on it to steady it for him. "That's it. Keep drinking."

Finally, McGee started coughing and Tony pulled it away. "You feeling warmer yet?"

McGee nodded. "A little."

"Good. It's only going to be a couple of hours now. You know the boss. He probably is hijacking a snow plow as we speak. In the meantime, you and I are going to have to snuggle under the Mylar." Tony smiled. "A little bit like a first date."

He could only manage a grin on the side of his face that wasn't swollen. "The one time I can't fight you off."

"I'm going to shift you a little so I can get on the seat with you. I'm sorry if it hurts." Tony put his hands on McGee's back and side and turned him slightly. McGee yowled. Tony quickly slipped under him and let him rest against him. "Sorry Tim."

He reached back and pulled two Mylar blankets over them. He snaked an arm and a leg over McGee's torso and rested his head in the crook of McGee's neck. Then he smiled. "You gotta be hating this."

Tim grunted. "Hell, I'd let Fornell do it if it warmed me up."

"That was funny finding him and Diane in the hotel room."

"Traumatizing actually."

Tony lifted his head. "You sure you and Diane never…"

McGee snorted. "No way. She was way too scary for me."

"Oh, I hear ya'."

For a few minutes, they sat in silence while the wind howled around them. Tony had stuffed one of the army blankets in the broken window, but a snowy breeze still got through. Then McGee sighed. "I'm sorry, Tony. I was really stupid."

Tony nodded. "You thought I was up here, didn't you?"

"Car is full of things I figured you wouldn't know to pack."

"You were going to save me?"

"Not exactly. I was angry. Wanted you to know what a fool I thought you were for isolating yourself."

Tony nodded. "I thought about coming up. Got in the car. And you were right. I wouldn't have been prepared."

"I miss her too."

Tony shook his head. "That was worth risking your life for?"

"It's stupid, isn't it? What was I thinking?"

"She never said good-bye to you, did she?"

McGee's breath caught. "I thought we were close. I risked my whole career for her last year with Bodnar. I would've taken a bullet for her. I know she called Gibbs."

"She owes Gibbs a lot."

McGee shook his head. "I'm hurt. Then there was you acting like you were the only one in pain. You and Ziva and the special love you shared. I wanted to talk to you about this. I needed to do that. God, I've been feeling so sorry for myself."

"Join the club."

"Why didn't she say good-bye?"

"Tim, I chased her for four months. She said good-bye to me only because I caught her."

"You never told me much about that. What did she say?"

"I don't remember everything. She was at crossroads. Feeling like her past was destroying her. All I could do was focus on was trying to get her to come home. I gave her my whole heart. Said everything I'd ever felt. And it wasn't enough."

"Damn."

"I wasn't enough to get her home. Felt like a knife in my gut. When I got back to D.C…" He shook his head. "I have never felt so empty in my entire life. Getting up in the morning was a major task those first few weeks."

"I'm sorry, Tony."

He sighed into McGee's neck. "I knew I was keeping you at arm's length. You should've seen me with Abby. Stopped going to the lab for weeks. Couldn't handle her energy."

"Yeah, she noticed."

"I don't think Ziva knew what to say to you. You would've needed to know why, and I don't think she would've known how to answer that. She's still trying to figure it out. She just needs us to have faith in her."

"She could've said that to me."

Tony lifted his head. "Maybe you're more angry at Ziva than me."

"Probably. But I like being angry at you."

Tony chuckled. "What would I do without you, Tim?"

McGee grunted and grew quiet. Tony patted him on the chest. "Rest for a little bit. We've got a few hours at least before Gibbs gets here."

McGee's head lolled to the side and his breathing deepened. Tony thought about sleeping as well, but there were too many variables that could go wrong. He dimmed the lantern and listened to the blizzard outside. Twice the wind blew the blanket out of the broken window and twice, he had to plug the hole. He tried to avoid looking at his cell phone for the time. It really didn't matter. There was no real way to predict how it was going to take. Finally, he let his eyes close.

…

"The Boss is here! He's here!" McGee threw the blankets off and lurched forward. "Hurry Tony! We got to help the Boss!"

DiNozzo sat up, blinking. It was still dark and windy and he looked around frantically. "You saw him?"

"He said there was a callout!" McGee's pale skin had turned rosy and he started tugging at the driver's side door.

Tony grabbed his arms and pushed him back against the seat. "Tim? Do you know where you are?"

McGee's eyes were wild. "Dead Marine! Rock Creek Park!"

Tony grabbed his face and saw how flushed he was. "Tim, look at me! Look at me!"

McGee stared into Tony's eyes. "You're trapped in a car and you have to stop thrashing around. You understand?"

McGee's breathing was coming in short bursts. "Boss needs us!"

"You're hallucinating, Tim!"

McGee reached for the door again. "I got to get outside!"

"Stop! Listen to me! You trust me, right?"

McGee looked at him, breathing hard. "Boss needs us."

"It's okay, Tim. It's okay. Boss is okay. He just needs you to rest. Okay? Let me get you some more fluids."

McGee relaxed back into his seat, and drank obediently when DiNozzo put the thermos to his mouth.

"It was a dream, Tim. Just a dream." He pulled the blankets back over McGee, keeping him pinned to the seat. He pulled out the satellite phone and called MTAC. "Anybody there?"

"How's it going, Tony?" Said Brownie's distinctive voice.

"Ducky still there?"

"I'm here, Anthony!"

"I thought he was warming up, Duck. He was sleeping and everything. Then he just woke up, screaming. I think he was hallucinating."

"Warming him has to be a delicate process, Tony. He's had significant exposure."

"What do I do?"

"What you've been doing."

"Should I rub his limbs?"

"No! Be gentle. The truth is I worry about what will happen once help does get there. He will go into shock quite easily at this point."

"Well, that's not exactly comforting, Ducky."

"You're doing exactly the right thing. Help will be there soon."

…

Tony sat up straight when the banging started. Then someone pulled the blanket out of the broken window and he saw a familiar face. "Gibbs!"

"How is he?"

Tony turned to McGee and shook him lightly. Green eyes opened half-mast. "The Boss is here, Tim."

McGee rolled his head toward him. "Boss?"

Gibbs winced. "Damn, he is banged up."

"What time is it?

"6 a.m."

"We got to get him out of here."

"Yeah."

"Let me get out and help." Tony covered McGee and climbed out after Gibbs. It was still dark but the wind had calmed considerably. He was surprised to see two other men dressed from head to toe in snowsuits. "You brought friends."

Gibbs nodded. "Some Marines I know. We're going to hook this beast up to a tow truck and pull it off the tree."

"You got a tow truck up here?"

"That and an ATV. Took us six hours."

The two men with him were busy hooking up chains to the car. Gibbs turned back to Tony. "This is how it's going to work. They're going to pull the car away from the tree a few feet and hold it. It's damn slippery up there so we're going to have to work fast. You and I are going to have to get that door off and get him out of the car."

"We got the right tools."

"Raided a firehouse on the way up here."

"Good."

One of the men stood up. "We got the car hooked up, Jethro. Are you ready for the pull?"

"Give me a minute with him." He turned to DiNozzo. "I got saws and hydraulic tools up on the road. Go get 'em."

Gibbs waded back to the passenger side and climbed in. He pulled the blankets off McGee's face. "How you doing?"

McGee looked at him, flushed and dull. "What's the plan?"

"We're going to pull the car off the tree and then we're going to work to get you out."

McGee nodded.

Gibbs shined a light on McGee's thigh and shook his head. "It's going to hurt, Tim. It's going to hurt bad when we start moving things."

"Figured."

"I wanted to give you morphine, but Ducky says no."

McGee said nothing.

"Look at me, Tim." Gibbs put a rough hand on his bruised cheek. "You're going to be okay."

"Sorry about all this," he said slowly.

"I have no doubt. You ready?"

McGee swallowed. "Do it."

Gibbs backed out of the car and shut the door. A few moments later, McGee heard a motor gunning. Then the car jerked and he screamed.

….

It took an hour to get the door open and the metal pulled out of the way. McGee was unconscious by the time they got in there. Tony kept the satellite phone to his ear with Ducky, and the minute the leg was free, he was applying a pressure bandage.

Signs of shock were all there and discussion turned to how long it would take to get him to a hospital. Daylight was trying to peek through the clouds, but the wind was still strong and the roads were drifted over. A four-five hour bumpy ride was not in McGee's best interest. Gibbs spoke to one of his friends, and the man jumped on his ATV and headed up the road. Then the other man helped Gibbs and DiNozzo load McGee into the Navy maintenance truck. Gibbs shook hands with the tow truck driver before climbing in with Tony. Tony leaned McGee against Gibbs. "You sure about this?"

"Doesn't seem like we have a choice. Bill went up ahead to get a fire lit in the cabin. Someone should be able to make it up later in the afternoon."

…..

When Tony woke, he found himself plastered to McGee in a narrow bed. He lifted his head. "What the hell?"

Gibbs was sitting by the fire and he turned his head at the sound of his voice. "You were pretty wiped out, Tony."

Tony peered under the blankets. "I forgot you talked me into taking my clothes off. This is more intimacy than I ever anticipated with my probie."

"Skin on skin contact is the best way to warm a body."

"Oh man!"

"McGee is too out of it to notice. What's the problem?"

"He's going to wake up at some point, and I know McPersonal Space. He's going to need therapy after this. What time is it?"

"Noon."

"Help coming?"

"We're hoping for a helo before sundown. The sheriff and I have had several heated conversations about it. Vance is working on it now. It all depends on the wind. Get up off him. We should check his temperature and look at that leg."

Tony got out of the bed and reached for his clothes. "You're not going to do a rectal temp, are you?"

Gibbs gave him a look before lifting McGee's arm and resting the thermometer in his armpit. They watched McGee closely before removing it. Gibbs looked at it and nodded. "It's rising slowly."

"Is there any frostbite?"

"The toes on his left foot. I've been wrapping them in warm, wet towels."

Tony shook his head. "Man, this is messed up. It's really my fault for not communicating with him. He really thought he would find me up here."

Gibbs checked the thick wrapping on the thigh. "I really wish I knew what to do with this. Afraid to take the bandage off. At least, it's not bleeding through."

"Dammit! Where are they?!" Tony said kicking a chair.

McGee stirred at the sound. Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Nice, DiNozzo."

Tim opened his eyes and looked around the room. Tony sat on the bed. "Sorry Tim. I didn't mean to be so loud."

McGee blinked. "Where are we?"

"Gibbs' cabin. Getting you off the mountain got complicated."

"Everything hurts. The leg is bad. Throbbing," Tim said swallowing dry.

Gibbs went over to the stove. "I have tea and lemon here. I need you to starting drinking it."

"I hate tea, Boss."

Gibbs shook his head. "I don't really care. You need to drink it. Tony, help him sit up."

Tony propped pillows behind him, careful to still keep him covered in blankets. Gibbs brought over a cup with lukewarm tea. "Help him drink it, DiNozzo."

Tony sat with him patiently while he gulped it down. Gibbs turned his chair away from the fire and faced them. "Let's talk."

Tony took the cup away from McGee. "Okay."

"We're all a little off our game these days. We all miss her."

"She said good-bye to you," McGee mumbled.

Gibbs nodded. "So, not saying good-bye means that she doesn't care about you?"

McGee looked down.

"Ziva leaving didn't have anything to do with us. This is about her. We didn't cause it. We're not responsible for it. She has to find herself, and we have to let her."

Tony sighed. "Seems to me she could've found herself in D.C."

Gibbs shook his head. "She needs to do this on her own, Tony."

"Yeah."

"I only talked to her for only about five minutes because she didn't really know what to say. This is all in her heart still. Hasn't made it to her brain yet. When it does, she'll call you, Tim. And as for you, DiNozzo, it would break her heart if she knew how you'd pulled away from the team."

Tony shrugged. "I just had a few moments."

"You're a pain in the ass, but we need you- especially Tim here. The two of you have the weirdest relationship I've ever seen. You couldn't be more different, and you are constantly annoying one another, but you're inseparable. You need each other. Don't mess with that."

Tony raised an eyebrow at McGee. "That was quite a speech. Do you buy it?"

"I liked it," Tim said softly.

"Still thirsty?" Tony picked up the cup.

McGee shook his head. "Tired. Everything hurts. My leg. My foot is on fire. My head."

Tony noted how pale his skin was. "Are you still cold? Want to snuggle some more?"

McGee groaned. "Please no. It'll give me nightmares."

Gibbs frowned. "Get under those blankets again. Let me try to reach Ducky. Maybe I can give you some painkillers now."

Tony eased him back into the pillows and covered him. He looked at Gibbs. "He doesn't look good. We really need to get off this mountain."

Gibbs gave him a look. "Yeah, I got that."

The satellite phone went off, and Tony got to it first. "I'll put it on speaker."

"Gibbs?"

He crossed the room. "Leon? What kind of news do you have for me?"

"Look out your window to the south."

Gibbs and DiNozzo crowded around the small window. In the distance there was a black speck that looked like a large bird. Gibbs smiled. "What did you send me?"

"The sheriff can't fit us in today, but the U.S. Carrier Lincoln out of Norfolk had a Huey transport that wasn't doing anything."

Gibbs smiled at Tony. "That's good news, Leon!"

"Get some shovels out there. Satellite imagery tells us that there should be a good spot about fifty yards west of your cabin."

"You got it!" Tony grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

"Thanks Leon. We were getting worried up here."

"The medics are going to get out first and stabilize him. One of them happens to be a 72 year old medical examiner."

Gibbs nodded. "That's Ducky for ya'."

"Let's get him home."

"I won't forget this, Leon."

"I won't let ya'," Vance said before signing off.

…

He woke to white walls and a TV hanging from the wall. For a while, he just stared at it. He felt like a man who'd run one hundred miles. The idea of lifting his head seemed overwhelming. A snort broke his reverie and his eyes found Dr. Mallard slouched in a chair beside his bed gently snoring.

He smiled. Ducky had shown up at Gibbs' cabin with Navy medics in tow. The old man fussed with every move they made, and it had been incredibly comforting to have him there. Ducky had always represented a sense of calm. He'd kept his eyes on him through the flurry of IVs, needles, poking, and prodding.

Tony muscled his way in to look at him with a wide grin. When DiNozzo was feeling good, it was infectious and McGee remembered thinking that it had been a long time since he'd seen that smile.

He heard a door swing open and he swiveled his head. The boss poked his head in. "Ready for visitors?"

McGee nodded. On the side of his bed, Ducky sat up with a grunt, his glasses sliding down his face. Ducky made a grab for his glasses as Gibbs walked up. "How's he doing, Duck?"

Glasses secured on his face, he peered at McGee. "He's looking good. Electrolytes are balanced. I can see color on his face."

"What about my leg?" Tim murmured.

"Twenty-three stitches and IV anti-biotics. You'll need to stay off it a few days. The frostbite on your left foot is healing nicely although those toes will always be sensitive to the cold now. CAT scan on your head looked good. Give it a week and you'll be as good as new."

McGee looked at Gibbs. "I was a fool."

He waved an arm. "I don't want to have that conversation again. It happened and now it's over. Hopefully, we're all a little smarter as a result."

"It should only take a few days for me to get back to work."

Gibbs' mouth twitched. "Take your time, Tim."

"Knock, knock." Tony's face appeared at the door. "Room for two more?"

Without waiting for an answer, Tony came in with a couple of bags followed by Abby. She was all smiles as she rounded the bed and gently took his face. Her nose wrinkled as she considered his bruises, but then she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Timmy!"

"I ruined it for you, Abbs."

"Well, we only thought you were dead for like a half a day," Tony said as he pulled a silver garland out of a bag. He pulled some tape out as well, and started taping the garland up on the wall.

Abby jumped up and rifled through the other bag, pulling out lights and bulbs. She got up and started wrapping lights around the TV and the chairs.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Having Christmas. Like the Grinch, you stole it from us."

"Don't forget your part in all this, DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

McGee frowned at Ducky. "The hospital is okay with this?"

"I suspect they are running with the better to ask forgiveness than permission defense."

Tony ran back to the door and found more bags. He grabbed a table from the corner of the room and pulled out eggnog, a bottle of bourbon, frosted sugar cookies, chips and dip, and other assorted treats. "We'll set up a little buffet right over here."

McGee raised his head. "Sugar cookies?"

Abby plucked a green frosted tree off the plate and brought it over. "I made this one just for you."

McGee took it gingerly and looked at Ducky. "I could really use some calories."

Ducky chuckled.

Tony pulled out a DVD and a player. Gibbs groaned. "It's a Wonderful Life again."

"Ziva loved that movie," Abby said.

"Boss, it's called a tradition, and I would say that recent events call for a retrospective on appreciating the ones we love." Tony started fiddling with the TV. "Now McGoo, remind me where these wires go."

McGee made a move to get out of bed, but Ducky put a hand on him. "Figure it out yourself, Anthony."

Gibbs held up his Ipad. "Well, I won't be bored at least. Got through the first three chapters of that book you put on there at my dad's house. This is a really neat book reader."

"Actually, Gibbs, you can do a lot of other things with an Ipad as well. I could show you," Abby said.

Gibbs shook his head. "Don't need it for anything else. Book reading is good enough for me."

"Right." She and McGee exchanged a look.

Tony offered McGee an eggnog and bourbon, but Ducky intercepted it. "I'll take that, Anthony. He's not quite ready for spirits."

McGee lay back against the pillow and watched as Tony tried to hook up the DVD player to the TV. He clearly had the cables reversed, but watching him struggle with it was almost better than the movie itself. Gibbs sat in a corner sipping bourbon straight with glasses hanging off the end of his nose as he read Master and Commander on the Ipad. Ducky had strolled over to the food and was sifting through the offerings.

"Timmy." He blinked and found Abby standing there with a Santa hat. She smiled and fit it snugly on his head. "It's the best we could do on short notice."

He smiled. "It's everything."

"I wish she was with us."

He squeezed her hand. "As long as she's in our hearts, she's here, Abbs."

"It works! Can you believe it! Look!" Tony danced away from the TV and pointed. Jimmy Stewart's face filled the screen. "Hey Tim, move over. I'm climbing in. No place to sit."

"What!" McGee's eyes widened.

"Don't give me that surprised look!" He said as he climbed in the bed on the side without the IV bag and wriggled in next to McGee. "You and me cuddling. It's a thing now."

"Boss!"

…

The End


End file.
